Workplace deaths hit 10-year high

Thursday

THE ISSUE: Workplace deaths in Massachusetts hit a 10-year high in 2016.

WHAT'S NEXT: Some worker advocates are calling for reforms to hold employers more accountable for safety.

More Massachusetts workers died on the job in 2016 than in any year in the past decade, according to an April 27 report from MassCOSH, the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health.

On Friday, a crowd will gather in front of the Statehouse to remember the 70 fallen workers. The list of the deceased includes 62 workers who suffered fatal injuries on the job, and eight firefighters who died from work-related diseases.

Transportation-related accidents, including car crashes, were the leading cause of work-related deaths in 2016, contributing to 41 percent of all worker deaths in Massachusetts. Falls, slips and trips accounted for 28 percent of worker deaths. Other causes of death include contact with objects or equipment, exposure to harmful substances and workplace violence.

As has historically been the case, Massachusetts worker deaths in 2016 were heavily concentrated in the construction industry, which accounted for nearly 40 percent of workplace fatalities.

The number of work-related deaths has increased each year since 2012, when there were 32 fatalities. Since then the rate or workplace fatalities has doubled to 2 deaths per 100,000 workers.

The MassCOSH report described several examples of unsafe conditions that led to deaths in 2016. On multiple occasions it references the deaths of Kelvin Mattocks and Robert Higgins, who died Oct. 21 in Boston’s South End, when they were working in a construction trench that collapsed.

Their employer, Atlantic Drain Services of Roslindale, is facing criminal manslaughter charges and $1.4 million in OSHA fines.

Suffolk county District Attorney Dan Conley’s office alleges the firm forged employees signatures on forms certifying they received safety training.

Following the deaths of Mattocks and Higgins, the Boston City Council passed an ordinance requiring firms to report their safety records before receiving construction permits. A similar proposal was introduced in the state Legislature earlier this year.

State Sen. Jennifer Flanagan, D-Leominster, has also introduced legislation to raise the fine for corporations convicted of manslaughter from $1,000 to $250,000. Under the proposal, the state could debar those corporations for up to 10 years.